Not sure how to spend your leftover CME money before your allowance resets? You are in good company. Whether your CME budget expires on June 30 or December 31, most employers follow a strict use-it-or-lose-it policy. That means unspent CME funds disappear at the end of the cycle.
The good news is there are still plenty of smart, useful , and creative ways to use your CME allowance before it expires. This guide will walk you through the best last-minute CME options, including online courses, subscription bundles, and even CME with gift card offers that help you get the most value from your remaining budget.
Table of Contents
1. Exclusive CME Sales & Discounts (from us!)
Modern MedEd partners with popular CME providers covering dozens of specialties to bring you special offers and discounts you won't find anywhere else. VisualDx, BoardVitals, and Oakstone are just a few companies we've secured sweet deals with for your benefit.
VisualDx: CME Plus Clinical Decision Support
Key Benefits
- No limit to amount of category 1 CME credits to earn
- DermExpert supports DDx for rashes, lesions, moles, & other dermatologic conditions
- Access 400+ (and counting) printable patient handouts
- Save $50 off list price
VisualDx with DermExpert is a must-have for all general practice clinicians who treat patients with skin.
Seriously, it's that good. Not only do you accrue CME for each search you undertake or differential you build, but it can also realistically be used at the bedside for patient education, a clinical refresher, or considerations for next steps.
DermExpert allows you to take a HIPAA-compliant picture of a lesion to support your differential diagnosis.
You can compare your image to a manageable library of visual differentials generated by its artificial intelligence. The AI and machine learning pulls from a massive library of medical images to bolster your DDx.
VisualDx - Unlimited CME for $249/year (normally $299)
Oakstone: From Board Prep to the Latest Updates
Key Benefits
- Earn unlimited Category 1 CME credits
- Earn CME credits across dozens of specialties
- Regular updates to keep your medical knowledge cutting-edge
- Content partners including Harvard, UCSF, University of Pittsburgh, and more
Oakstone has consistently been a CME overachiever, with more than 30 specialties covered in formats including audio, video, and written articles that actually respect your time (and if you're like me, your attention span). Whether you a re prepping for boards or diving deep into the latest trends in your specialty, Oakstone has you covered. Even better, we have rotating discounts that update every few weeks. A bit like seasonal allergies, but way more useful.
Oakstone - Deep dives into subspecialty topics
BoardVitals: Active CME for Smart Clinicians
Key Benefits
- Earn as many as 100 AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits™
- Choose 6 or 12 months access on your smartphone, tablet, desktop
- Engaging, frequently updated clinical vignettes with detailed explanations
- Choose discount: Save 10% or get $100 off
Choose from more than 30 specialties
Addiction Medicine | Anesthesiology | Cardiology | Child Neurology | Child Psychiatry | Dermatology | Echocardiography | Emergency Medicine | Family Medicine | Gastroenterology | Hematology and Oncology | Hospital Medicine | Internal Medicine | Nephrology | Neurology | Nuclear Cardiology | OBGYN | Orthopedic Surgery | Otolaryngology | Pain Medicine | Pathology | Pediatrics | Preventive Medicine | Psychiatry | Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine | Radiology | Sleep Medicine | Sports Medicine | Surgery | Urology
For those looking for a more engaging way to earn CME, look no further than BoardVitals. Their question banks are formulated for board prep or ongoing CME, depending on your needs. Each question is written following good item writing principles and comes with a detailed explanation and reference, so you aren't just memorizing, you're actually learning.
And as an added bonus, we have two offers to help you save even more. Just pick the one that saves you the most (and no, you can't use them both).
BoardVitals - Earn CME Credits Quickly and Easily with CME Question Banks
Take $100 off CME or Board Review Question Banks with MODERN100
Medality: Become a Better Radiologist in 5 Minutes a Day
Key Benefits
- Earn Unlimited AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits™ (Premium)
- Get CME for 1 or 2 years
- Hundreds of expert case reviews, fully scrollable DICOM images (all plans), and radiology conference series (premium)
- Save 20% with code MODERNMED20
All Radiologic Specialties, All Modalities
Neuro | MSK | Head & Neck | Breast | Chest | Cardiac | GU | GI/Abdomen | Emergency | Interventional | GYN | Pediatric | Women's Health | Nuclear Medicine | Angiography | CT | Fluoroscopy | Mammography | MRI | PET | Tomosynthesis | Ultrasound | X-ray | Molecular Imaging | DEXA | AI Technologies | SPECT
Medality offers CME in every radiologic subspecialty and in every imaging modality. Choose from mastery video series, case challenges, expert case reviews, and even submit your own cases as part of their virtual fellowship. Purchasing a membership or CME bundle will get you access to all modalities of CME, so you can learn the way you want to. Want to make sure it's for you? Try the 7 day free trial before buying.
Medality - State CME + Every Radiologic Subspecialty
2. CME with Gift Cards
If you are trying to figure out how to spend leftover CME money before your budget resets, gift card bonuses are one of the most satisfying ways to do it. These offers provide high-quality CME along with a hefty Amazon, Visa, or other gift card in return. No 5pm lectures, no hotel buffets, no regrets. Here are our top three picks. They are all excellent options (whether or not your choose a gift card).
Price Range
$999 – $5999
CME Credits
51 – Unlimited
Max Gift Card
$3,500 Amazon or Visa
Specialties
Emergency Medicine, Cardiology, Neurology, Pediatrics, Pain, Psychiatry, and more
Price Range
$1999 – $5,499
CME Credits
Unlimited
Max Gift Card
$3,200 Amazon
Specialties
Anesthesiology, Cardiology, Critical Care, Dermatology, Internal Medicine, Primary Care, Neurology, Pathology, Psychiatry, Radiology, and more
Price Range
$999 – $2,499
CME Credits
Unlimited
Max Gift Card
$3,200 Amazon
Specialties
Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Oncology, Psychiatry, and more
Price Range
$2,500 – $4,000
CME Credits
Unlimited
Max Gift Card
$1,500 Amazon
Specialties
Every subspecialty in radiology, with fully scrollable DICOM images
Price Range
$999 – $5999
CME Credits
51 – Unlimited
Max Gift Card
$3,500 Amazon or Visa
Specialties
Emergency Medicine, Cardiology, Neurology, Pediatrics, Pain, Psychiatry, and more
Price Range
$999 – $2,499
CME Credits
Unlimited
Max Gift Card
$3,200 Amazon
Specialties
Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Oncology, Psychiatry, and more
Price Range
$2,500 – $4,000
CME Credits
Unlimited
Max Gift Card
$1,500 Amazon
Specialties
Every subspecialty in radiology, with fully scrollable DICOM images
CME with gift cards is one of the smartest ways to spend leftover CME money if you ask me (and, technically, you did). Just be sure to choose a provider that meets your specialty needs.
Want to see more of these? I break down each of these offers (and more) in detail in the full CME gift card roundup here.
2. CME with Reward Points: No More "Use It or Lose It"
If you are tired of the “use it or lose it” scramble that seems to happen every year with your CME funds, Master Clinicians might just have the answer for you. They offer a Membership Access Pass that allows you to convert your (time-limited) CME dollars into (never expiring) tokens for use on their platform.
The three tiers let you upload $1,000, $2,000, or $3,000 (Bronze, Silver, and Gold respectively) and provide 1 token per dollar. Another benefit is that when you purchase CME with tokens, you'll usually get it at a discount, too. For example, the Urgent Care Orthopedics Mastery Workshop costs $350 or if you use tokens, just 300, effectively saving you $50 on the price of the course.
Learn more about Master Clinicians Membership Access Pass here.
3. Multi Year CME Subscription
One of my favorite ways to spend CME money is with a multi-year CME subscription. CMEinfo Insider comes in one, two, or three year packages. StatPearls has a lifetime CME plan for $2,599. Pay once and get access to all current and future CME activities from StatPearls. Pretty good deal if you ask me.
4. Buy Medical Textbooks
If you need a textbook that is considered a must-have for your specialty, now is the time to get it. When I worked in the neurosurgery department, it was Greenberg's. Stahl’s is a cornerstone of psychiatry practice. Every specialty's got one.
Find yours on Bookshop.org and support local bookstores at the same time.
5. Book a Travel CME Activity
When I say travel CME, I don’t mean your traditional conferences that are held in various places around the country. Companies like CME Procedures offer ways to make your CME into a vacation (or your vacation into a CME conference). Buy your travel CME with this year’s CME stipend and book your travel in 2023.
6. Register for a CME Conference for Next Year
It’s never too early to start planning your CME conferences for next year. American Medical Seminars hosts CME events in hospital medicine, emergency medicine, primary care, infectious diseases, and other specialties in nice-looking beach towns.
More Ideas on Spending Leftover CME Money
With online CME becoming more and more popular every year, there are plenty of opportunities to spend your leftover CME money in creative and useful ways. This applies during pandemics as well as normal times.
For more online CME options, check out our CME database with more than 500 CME activities from which to choose.
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First Published: December 28, 2025
Further Reading
New CME with Gift Card Incentive Updates for 2026
CME with gift card incentives are compelling, no-brainer decisions. Here's the latest to take advantage of before your CME funds expire
Palliative Care CME & Resources: A Primer for Clinicians
Overview of palliative care, CME and more resources for healthcare professionals. By Kim Spering, FNP-BC palliative care nurse practitioner.
